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Ben Morris: Pocket Guides
by Jack Bowers
On Pocket Guides, his debut recording as foreman, Denver-based pianist Ben Morris leads a one-dozen strong quasi-big band with rather unusual instrumentation--two horns, two woodwinds, two violins, mandolin, cello, melodica and rhythm--through eight of his engaging compositions, most of which touch on his Norwegian heritage. To his credit, Morris makes splendid use of every tool in ...
Follow the Leader
Album: Seaside
By William Flynn
Label: OA2 Records
Released: 2022
Duration: 04:39
George Cotsirilos Quartet: Refuge
by Jack Bowers
At a troubling and turbulent time, when many jazz albums seek to convey a “message," the only statement that Chicago-bred, San Francisco-based guitarist George Cotsirilos and his able quartet wish to make on Refuge is that swing remains king in their domain, wielding its magisterial influence over ten of Cotsirilos' sunny compositions and arrangements.
Summer 2022
by Doug Collette
Jazz Journal is a regular column comprised of pithy takes on recent releases of note, spotlighting titles that might otherwise go unnoticed or that deserve special attention. Manel Fortia Despertar Segell Microscopi 2022 Beginning softly and politely, as befits its title definition (trans. “fall asleep"), “Dormir" is the ...
George Cotsirilos: 'Refuge'
I loved George Cotsirilos's guitar the moment I heard it. His sound is shrewd and seasoned and he has a refined sense of history. There's ample swing, soul-jazz and a keen sense of fusion in his playing, and I can hear Grant Green's plucking, Pat Metheny's articulation, Joe Pass's chords and John Scofield's note-bending in his ...
Ymir's Bones
Album: Pocket Guides
By Ben Morris
Label: OA2 Records
Released: 2022
Duration: 07:21
Nathan Borton: Each Step
by Jane Kozhevnikova
Each Step is the debut recording by guitarist Nathan Borton. As his website accurately states, Borton draws heavily from the mid-western tradition of bebop and blues. His influences include Wes Montgomery, Grant Green and Kenny Burrell. The album offers an enjoyable tour through the straight-ahead tradition. There are three standards early on: Cole Porter's ...
Ben Markley Big Band: Ari's Funhouse
by Jack Bowers
Ari's Funhouse, recorded in July 2021, sprang from a chance encounter at a Texas jazz festival in 2019 between New York-based drummer & composer Ari Hoenig and Denver-based pianist & arranger Ben Markley. After performing with Hoenig in a small group, Markley asked if he might score some of Hoenig's songs for a big band. Hoenig ...
Devolution
Album: Refuge
By George Cotsirilos
Label: OA2 Records
Released: 2022
Duration: 04:58
New Standard Jazz Orchestra: Waltz About Nothing
by Jack Bowers
Since trumpeter Rob Parton's superlative JazzTech Big Band left the scene more than a decade ago, Chicagoans have been left to wonder when, or even if, another ensemble of that caliber would arrive to fill the void left by its departure. In 2020, their hopes were realized with the formation of the New Standard Jazz Orchestra, ...
